Among those being considered to succeed Pope Benedict XVI is a notorious anti-Semite, Cardinal Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras. His name has appeared on various media short lists and his photograph was featured, along with other possible candidates, on the front page of the Miami Herald. He was also under consideration the last time around, and his Latin American heritage is considered a plus this time. He is very charismatic and popular in his home country and was recently invited to speak to Latino Catholics in the United States.

To put it most simply, Rodriguez Maradiaga is an out and out Jew-hater. He has said that “the Jews” are to blame for the scandal surrounding the sexual misconduct of priests toward young parishioners! The Jews? How did Rodriguez Maradiaga ever come up with this hair-brained idea? Here is his “logic.” He begins by asserting that the Vatican is anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian (as he says it should be). It follows, therefore, that “the Jews” had to get even with the Catholic Church, while at the same time deflecting attention away from Israeli injustices against the Palestinians. The Jews managed to do this by arranging for the media—which he says they control—to give disproportionate attention on the Vatican sex scandal.

Listen to Rodriguez Maradiaga’s own words:

It certainly makes me think that in a moment in which all the attention of the mass media was focused on the Middle East, all the many injustices done against the Palestinian people, the print media and the TV in the United States became obsessed with sexual scandals that happened 40 years ago, 30 years ago. Why? I think it’s also for these motives: What is the church that has received Arafat the most times and has most often confirmed the necessity of the creation of a Palestinian state? What is the church that does not accept that Jerusalem should be the indivisible capital of the State of Israel, but that it should be the capital of the three great monotheistic religions?

Rodriguez Maradiaga then goes on to compare the Jewish controlled media with “Hitler,” because they are “protagonists of what I do not hesitate to define as a persecution against The Church.”

The prime media culprit in Rodriguez Maradiaga’s bizarro world is the Boston Globe, which has won numerous journalistic awards for its exposure of the sex scandal and cover up. The Globe is owned by The New York Times, which is controlled by the Sulzberger family. Hence the Jewish conspiracy. The problem (among so many) with this cockamamie theory is that the Jewish community of Boston was very close to, and admiring of, Cardinal Bernard Law, who presided over the archdiocese during the scandal. Cardinal Law had built bridges between the Catholic and Jewish communities of Boston, and when the scandal was exposed by the very un-Jewish Boston Globe, the Jewish community remained largely supportive of Law. None of the leading media critics, lawyers or politicians who railed against the church were Jewish. Most were Catholic. But that didn’t matter to the bigoted cardinal, who — along with other classic anti-Semites — believes that if there is a problem, “the Jews” must be to blame for it. As James Carrol, the distinguished columnist for the Boston Globe who is himself a Catholic, has characterized Rodriguez Maradiaga’s “crackpot” mindset: “when the church has a problem—here is the oldest move of all—blame the Jews.”

When asked whether he wanted to reconsider his attack, Rodriguez Maradiaga replied: “I don’t repent… sometimes it is necessary to shake things up.” He later promised Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League that he wouldn’t repeat his conspiratorial nonsense, but he has refused to publicly apologize or “repent.”

The Vatican has rightly called anti-Semitism a “sin,” and yet an unrepentant sinner is on the short list to become the leader of the Catholic Church. Is it because the other cardinals are unaware of Rodriguez Maradiaga’s anti-Semitism? Unlikely, because he has made no secret of his bigotry against the Jews. Or is it because not enough of them care as much as they should?

AS A JEW, I HAVE no standing to, or stake in, whether the new pope is conservative or liberal on Catholic doctrine, but I and all other people who care about Catholic-Jewish relations do have standing and a major stake in assuring that an anti-Semite is never considered for such a high calling. Just as there was a universal outcry when the former Nazi Kurt Waldheim was elected to the presidency of Austria, so too should there be a universal outcry if this cardinal, whose rants could comfortably have been published by Der Stürmer, were to be elected head of the Catholic Church.

If Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga were to be elected pope, much of the good work done by recent popes in building bridges between the Catholic Church and the Jews would be endangered. This should not be allowed to happen. The campaign against this bigot must begin now before his candidacy develops more traction.

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11 Responses to “Will a Notorious Anti-Semite Become the Next Pope?”

The Cardinal from Honduras was accusing the Jewish controlled media, of uncovering stories about Roman Catholic priest sexually abusing children to deflect away from the stagnation of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. So if he becomes Pope, he either instigates the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations himself, or apologizes to all the children he sexually abused.

When hasn't the roman catholic church ruled by keeping people in fear of them, with their heresies, as we consider the Vatican or Roman catholic church, "The whore of babylon who sits upon seven hill, s and isn the vatican build on seven hills?

Don't take for granted what Alan Dershowitz is writing. He is well known for distorting the truth "Beyond Chutzpah" in many aspects.
Don't blame the RC church. Rome is built on seven hills, the Vatican not.
Jerusalem is also built on seven hills, and called the spiritual Sodom and Egypt.
There where our Lord has been crucified. (Rev 11:8)

Dave, once you control the majority share of the worlds largest financial institutions, you control all you have set out to achieve… No need to control governments, you already steer them in your direction….

On March 15, 117 Cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel to choose probably the most powerful
Man in the world from the smallest country in the world. Pope John Paul 11 brought down Communism in Poland and East Germany by mobilizing the masses against these regimes without firing 'A single shot.' Not bad for one old 70 year old then! The next one will have the same invisible weaponry at his disposal, World Financiers will be looking on with keen interest! The test is hard to speculate.

On March 15, 117 Cardinals will file into the Sistine Chapel to choose the next Pope, probably the most powerful man in the world from the smallest country in the World. Pope John Paul 11 brought down Communisim in Poland by rallying the masses against the Regime without firing a single shot, not bad for one frail old man. The international Financiers will be looking on very keenly as to who is elected to this incredible position of power. However it is he will have what no one else in the world can do which is to influence Catholics in every country. When the doors are said to close in the Sistine Chapel the Cardinals in the conclave are said to be guided by God in their chose of Pope. I hope he says the right things to them!

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